Expert Describes Bullets That Killed Cop

May 21, 1997|By James Hill, Tribune Staff Writer.

A firearms expert called by prosecutors in the trial of Murray Blue, accused of fatally shooting one Chicago police officer and wounding another two years ago, dealt a major blow to the defense Tuesday when he testified that the bullets recovered from both officers' bodies came from Blue's Tec-9 assault weapon.

Richard Chenow, of the Illinois State Police Firearms Identification Unit in Chicago, contradicted the defense argument that 40-year-old rookie officer Daniel Doffyn was accidentally shot and killed by rookie officer Milan "Michael" Bubalo. The shootout took place across the street from the Austin District Police Station, at 750 N. Lorel Ave., on March 8, 1995.

Bubalo was wounded in the hip. Doffyn was struck in the head and chest.

Blue, 26, is on trial with Clyde Cowley, 18. Both are charged with first-degree murder of a police officer, attempted murder of a police officer, aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to deliver.

Chenow said he determined after testing Blue's weapon against Bubalo's that the bullet that struck Doffyn in the chest--which passed through his lung and liver before stopping in his left thigh--conclusively matched Blue's weapon "excluding all others."

The bullet that struck Doffyn in the head, however, had sustained severe damage because of the contact with Doffyn's skull, so Chenow could not say conclusively that bullet came from Blue's Tec-9--although he testified it likely did. And he did say that it "absolutely" did not come from Bubalo's gun.

"If Bubalo had shot Doffyn, I would have expected to pull a Ranger SXT 9mm round from his head, which is standard Chicago police issue for 9mm semi-automatic handguns," Chenow said. "But the bullet that was removed from Officer Doffyn's head was of a different configuration, weight and color."

The Ranger SXT bullets are 146-grain weight, hollow-point bullets in a black copper jacket. The Winchester-manufactured bullets from Blue's Tec-9 are 115-grain weight, with full-metal copper-colored jackets--just like the ones removed from Bubalo and Doffyn.

"The rounds in Bubalo's, and likewise Doffyn's weapon, would have penetrated deeper into the body causing more damage," Chenow said.